


Waking Nightmare

by Rinsegaku



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Family, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-02
Updated: 2017-10-02
Packaged: 2019-01-08 05:27:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12247935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rinsegaku/pseuds/Rinsegaku
Summary: A lovely day and a nightmarish night... an experience that should teach both father and son that time is what they need most, but what they probably have less.





	Waking Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, Segaku here... again, I'm poking my head after a while, and I know this is not a chapter of any of the fics, but believe me, I'm working on those, and the next chapter of the crossover will have a little of me on it, just be patient.
> 
> Why I decided to post this? The idea had been in my head for a really long while... well, not exactly this but something similar. Then the Boruto movie came out and ruined my plans for that. This, I wrote in a sad moment for me... maybe looking for some sort of inner comfort? Family life is not as peachy as I would like it to be. Soooo, everything mixed and this came out :D
> 
> Keep in mind, I have NOT read the Boruto manga, nor I plan to. For me the Naruto franchise was over with the Boruto movie, don't ask me to dwell deeper than that, so think of this as my own AU after the events of the movie, ok? Also, this is unbeta-ed, un checked and basically just straight out of my brain to you, so this is not perfect, there might be plot-holes, confusing parts or things like that, and it was meant to be like that because... well, for now it might be just a One-shot, but if you guys like it, or are curious about this (and let me know about it, obviously. I can't read minds) I might make this a multichapter fic, maybe not too long, but more complete (and improved too)
> 
> Sooo, let me know what you think of this, if you wish to see more, and I'll see you guys later.

For him, it had been one of the best days of his life, right on top with the day he got married, and the days each one of his beautiful sons were born. True, things with his family used to be hard, especially with his son (a carbon copy of him, yet so different at the same time) but after the debacle that came along with the last Chuunin exams, and all that was finally said between father and son, the aftermath promised so much...

Today, for the first time in a long while, when his son's team entered his office there was no silent discomfort or awkwardness between them, nor the usual contempt or disdain his son's words used to have when answering to the debriefing of their mission. For anyone else, the normalcy of the scene would have not meant anything of relevance, just another team reporting for duty, but for him, had he been a few more years younger, he would have thrown protocol through the window and hugged his son right there, happy and proud that at long last, his son was showing him acceptance.

Something he had not craved so much from someone since his childhood.

He reflected, as he walked home from the office earlier than usual (Shika had slouched enough already. He was a genius damn it! The best he could do in peace times was put that brain to use in solving the paperwork problem with him!) that this was something not meant to be worked just by one side.

Just as his son was guilty of being so self-centered about his attention, he knew his home problems were also his fault for dedicating so much of his time for his job.

True, it is the duty of the Hokage to watch over the village, but there's also his responsibility as a parent and a husband, and that's just as important, at least for him.

All the confirmation he needed about the previous thoughts was the two tiny arms wrapping around him, followed by such a joyous squeal of happiness, when he lifted his little princess and hugged her back.

How the hell could he live without this for so long?

His wife called for his daughter back to the living room, so she could finish her homework, and right after she left he finally noticed another figure leaning on the wall, arms crossed and a satisfied smile on his face.

For a moment none said anything, but then the smile turned into a smirk, that also made him smirk, and two bandaged fists bumped.

And another pair of arms wrapped around him.

"I missed you, dad" was whispered against him, and he knew it meant so much more than a simple 'I missed you during the day', so he wrapped his arms around his first born, tightly, and also whispered to him.

"I missed you too son, you don't know just how much."

They remained like that for a little more, before the hug was broken and both were sniffling and wiping out moisture from the corners of their eyes.

So different, yet so similar at the same time.

His son wasted no time returning to his 'cool' self, not that it bothered him (he was just a child after all) and headed back to the dining hall.

Dinner was amusing, to say the least, filled with stories from both, his and his wife's, early genin days that made time fly by, so before any of them noticed it was well pass into the night.

It was little Himawari the first one to succumb to sleepiness, being taken to bed by Hinata, leaving just him and Boruto there.

"Was all this so hard to make? Us, sharing time like we used to." He asked.

"Yes, and no" he answered after thinking for some time "It would be easy for me, to just leave clones everywhere and do nothing, besides spending time with you... but it's not the right thing to do, even if I would love nothing else than seeing you grow into the fine Shinobi I know you'll be."

"Yeah" he said weakly, as if still trying to get used to the word, or the idea it held "I think I understand that now, how everyone relies on you that everything will be fine, once the shit hits the fan."

"Hey" he said ruffling his son's hair "you're also a hero yourself now. Not everyone can say they managed to save the kages, being a gennin nonetheless."

His son just blushed and bashfully ducked his head, mumbling something about it not being such a big deal, so he just laughed and followed him back to his room.

"Hey dad."

"Hmmm?"

"Why you decided to become Hokage?"

At first he was about to say that it was his dream, like any other time, and it was true, but then he thought that maybe that was not what he was asking... 'Why you chose a job that would take you away from us so much?'

"I guess... to show everyone that they could trust me? That I was not what they thought I was, but that I was myself, and I wished to protect everyone, despite what they thought of me."

"What... why would you wish that? Don't everyone love you already?"

At this he grimaced, but answered anyway.

"Remember that power I used during the big fight?" At his son's nod he continued "Now people admire me because I use it to protect them, but when I was younger they used to fear it... fear that I would use it to harm them, so I decided to prove them wrong and become Hokage."

"But-"

"No more answers today, it's already late and you have to sleep."

Boruto was about to protest, but in the end decided against it, with a pensive frown on his face, and nodded, giving him a low "love you dad" before closing the door to his room.

"I told you he would understand" a soft voice said when he entered his-their bedroom.

"Yeah" he answered tired, doing some extra work at the office having drained him, but it was damn worth it "It only took the attack of another overpowered foe against the village, and the kages, nothing else."

"Could it have been otherwise?" She asked with mirth on her eyes, laying down the book she was reading "It took the kidnapping of my sister, and the menace of world destruction, for you to finally notice me."

He blushed fiercely after being reminded of that, and said nothing, conceding to his wife.

After that he just laid in bed with her, both reminiscing about their lives, and how they ended where they were at the moment.

It had been a perfect day.

Now it was a nightmare.

"Where is my son!"

_"The sin of the son shall be cleansed by the father..."_

"Naruto, calm down!"

"Calm down? That man took my son Kami knows where! IN FRONT OF MY DAMNED EYES! HOW CAN I CALM DOWN SHIKA!"

_"And the death that should not be, will not be..."_

"Your intent is suffocating almost everyone in the cell Naruto, how can we interrogate him if there's nobody left to do so?"

"Leave me enough time with him, and I'll get all we need out."

"And risk you murdering him in a rage? That mask over his head is not coming out, we've tried everything. He has high pain tolerance, the only things left for us to do is apply the nastier physical punishment."

_"The trust of the future will be forged in the past..."_

-sigh- "That too, besides all that gibberish he's mumbling he has said nothing of relevance, he sounds more like a bad preacher."

Teeth grinding in frustration, he started pacing in the observation room the group was currently in, not doing anything to get his son back besides watching the bastard who took him away sit strapped to a chair there, head bowed, covered with a mask-helmet strange contraption with no relevant features, besides that it covered the whole head and apparently could not be removed, and hear him mumble things he could care less about because they were doing nothing to GET HIS SON BACK!

He should have been faster! He should have been more paranoid! He should have done something! Why he had to react just when a window was broken? Hinata had been telling him to check on the kids, because there was a strange noise coming from the direction their room was!

The sight of his son, not doing anything to defend himself, in front of this bastard! Eyes glazed and unfocused... the hallway seemed so long at that moment, and his legs felt like lead. He tried to reach him, he did! He called for his name, and he heard him. There were tears on his eyes, and even if his eyes were clouded and lost he was looking at him, and he extended his arm, not moving but trying to reach him, and he too... he was so close, almost brushing his hand.

And then he was gone.

Was Boruto trapped in a genjutsu? But he should know how to dispel those, right? Konohamaru should have taught them that right? No, he should not have been so carefree with his training, he should have also trained him, try to make the time for that! If he had done that maybe Boruto could have put up more of a fight, because he had fought back, he had seen when he returned to his son's room, after pummeling and knocking out the bastard. His room had been the scenery of a fight, but he did nothing...

Maybe his son was right after all... maybe he really was a horrible father...

"...ruto! Naruto!"

"WHAT!"

Ino recoiled at the fury he answered with, but he was too depressed, too tired, too deep into self loathing to actually care for once that they had no right to be on the receiving end of his anger.

Kurama was oddly silent.

"T-the helm prevents me from entering his mind."

A loud shouted curse echoed in the whole I&T complex, and everyone took a step away from him.

_"And let the blade of undoing be the tool of creation."_  The words echoed with finality, and for a moment everyone remained silent as the masked man finally rose his head and addressed everyone behind the one-way mirror.

"Kill me."

That was it for him. With a strangled cry he rushed for the door and tried to open it.

"Keep the door closed!" Shika shouted "Lord Hokage is not in the right-"

"RASENGAN!"

The door was blown away, along with anyone who tried to keep it closed, and like a fury he rushed towards the prisoner, lifting him by the neck, effortlessly ripping any restraints that were placed on him.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! TELL ME WHERE MY SON IS!"

"If you wish to see him again you have to kill me, hurry!" His voice sounded worried, but he couldn't be sure since the blank mask covered everything.

"LIKE HELL I WILL! WHERE IS MY SON!"

"You don't understand!" Now his voice was desperate "if you don't kill me now everything would have been for nothing! There would be no place for him to return!"

He didn't even bothered to speak this time, just screamed and slammed the guy on the ground, with enough force to crack it.

Just as he was about to rip the mask from the man, even if he had to take his head with it, every person who was with him in the observation room entered and managed to restrain him.

"Naruto calm down! If you kill him there won't be any lead to look for Boruto! We need him alive!"

Tired, frustrated and hopeless he just slumped on the arms of his friends and started to cry.

"Why..." he asked between sobs "Why you did that?"

"I'm trying to fix things here! You have to kill me, or it will be too late for him! I must not exist here if he is to return!"

"What do you mean with that?"

The man's blank masked face regarded each of them for a moment, his gaze lingering for a couple extra seconds on him, and then he let out a long sigh, and when he spoke next, even if there was still that same desperation on his voice, there was also resignation.

"You won't kill me" he said, sure of his words "then I will have to give you a reason."

A loud click sounded, and a hidden lock was released, making the mask fall to the floor with an empty echo, every person that was ready to strike as soon as the threat was made faltering for time enough for the man to make his move, shocked at what they saw under the mask.

The man- no, the teenager, jumped towards him, and he was still frozen in the arms of his friends to do something about it, but his ANBU were not, and since this was a threat to their leader, they draw their weapons and protected him. Aiming to kill.

He found his voice too late, for when he tried to stop them two blades were already piercing his chest, and blood has stained his clothes.

The boy was not even armed.

"W-who are..." his throat closed, not allowing him to say anything else, part shock at what he was seeing, part denial, and part just his brain being unable to process this anymore.

"M-missing nin of Konoha" he said before coughing blood, hair damp and dirty, clearly not taken care of in a long time, and a bit longer than what he expected, but still a very familiar shade of blonde. "Murderer of the Nanadaime Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto" his face was becoming paler by the second, a red stain growing on his chest, and sky-blue eyes losing focus on the world around them, zeroing on another pair very similar to them, he knew, since he had seen them just hours ago when he said goodnight to his son.

"Genin Uzumaki - Hyuuga Boruto, age 17."

"What?" He whispered horrified, the two whisker-like scars on his son's cheeks even more noticeable on the pale, almost white, skin. "B-but you... Boruto was- and then you-"

"H-hey old man" the other blonde said weakly "don't worry a -cough- about that, it will no longer happen."

"B-but you said-"

"T-the truth of your life... it was too much for -cough- for me. I was bitter at the village, and someone else -cough- took advantage of that... I seek revenge... you wished to protect... they... they butted in..." his voice was barely a whisper, but it was pained, regretful and so filled with emotion… unconsciously he found himself whipping the tears away from the blonde's face.

"Then..."

"He'll return... once I'm gone, knowing first hand what... really happened... I'm so… sorry… so sorry… sor..."

With that the blonde closed his eyes and let out a long sigh, seconds later he was dead.

When asked, he wouldn't be able to tell what exactly happened, just that a moment he was holding a corpse that looked just like an older version of his son, and the other there was a nervous wreck on his lap crying his eyes out, begging for forgiveness and promising to never think bad of him again.

His hand brushed blonde hair, his fingers whipped tears from a whiskered cheek, and his eyes saw their reflection on other two in front of them, so similar, yet so different... so young, yet now looking so tired...

He would deal with the aftermath later, he would deal with whatever his job would tell him to do later, everything else could wait for another moment.

Right now his son was back, and he needed to comfort him.


End file.
